What is a "Darlington stripe" Slang term for the black marks resulting from scrapes with the wall at the 1.366-mile track where the high lane is the fastest. Might be called the "SAFER stripe" this weekend after the addition of the energy-absorbing barriers

The Numbers for the Showtime Southern 500:
0 - fewest cautions for a Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway (9/2/63)
1 - fewest cars on lead lap at finish (24 times, most recent 9/3/79)
1 - fewest laps led by race winner Ricky Craven, 3/16/03)
2 - fewest leaders (5/9/64)
4 - fewest lead changes (9/4/50)
6 - number of jet dryers available for track drying this weekend
10 - most wins by driver (David Pearson)
12 - fewest cars running at finish (9/2/74)
17 - most cautions (5/9/09)
17 - most leaders (9/6/82)
19 - wins from the pole; 35 from the front row (107 races)
23 - most cars on lead lap at finish (9/1/02)
41 - most lead changes (9/6/82)
41 - most running at finish (twice, most recent 5/10/08)
44 - different race winners
47 - different pole winners
82 - number of cars that started the 1951 race on what was then a 1.25-mile track
101 - most caution laps (9/2/74)
120 minutes - approximate amount of time it takes to dry the 1.366-mile track after a significant rainfallKey Darlington Dates
1949 - Harold Brasington, a retired racer, purchased 70 acres from Sherman Ramsey and started construction of the race track. (The egg-shaped design was necessary because Brasington promised Ramsey the track wouldn't disturb his minnow point on the west side of the property).
1950 - First race on Labor Day, a 75-car field for the 500-mile event on what was then a 1.250-mile track
1951 - Field of 82 cars started the race
1953 - Track was re-measured to 1.375 miles
1965 - Cale Yarborough, of nearby Timmonsville, crashed with his car sailing over the guard rail and off the track. He was unhurt and the mishap was used as an introduction to ABC's Wide World of Sports for several years.
1970 - Track re-configured to 1.366 miles following the spring race
1982 - International Speedway Corporation (ISC) acquires Darlington Raceway
1995 - Track repaved
1997 - Frontstretch and backstretch switched
2000 - All cars pit on same side for first time
2005 - First Saturday night race at Darlington; track repaved.(Darnell Communications for Dodge Motorsports)(5-5-2011)

Sprint Cup season at the quarter mark:
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series reached race No. 9 at Richmond last Saturday night, the official quarter mark of the season. At this point, teams and fans have a pretty good feel for how this year might fall out. In other words, we're well past the "it's too early to tell" phase of the season. Thus far, the season has been filled with competitive balance and record-breaking numbers. Only two drivers Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch have multiple wins, sending a clear signal that this year's championship is wide open. Some of the other numbers&
" There has been an average of 14.1 leaders per race, the most through nine races in series history.
" There has been an average of 35.8 lead changes per race, the most through nine races in series history.
" Four of the nine races have seen the lead change record broken or tied.
" Six different teams make up the top 10.
" There have been seven different winners in the first nine races.
" There have been seven different Coors Light Pole winners in the first nine races.
" Five of the nine races have had a margin of victory under one second, including Talladega, which tied the closest MOV since the inception of electronic timing in 1993 (.002 seconds).
" There has been an average of 4,255 passes per race, second-most since the inception of Loop Data in 2005.
" There has been an average of 50 passes per race, second-most since the inception of Loop Data in 2005.(NASCAR)(5-4-2011)

Practice Dates/Times/Television coverage

Qualifying Information/Times/Television coverage

Qualifying Draw: none, qualifying order is set by practice speeds, if rained out, then by points

Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-42, Friday, May 6 at 5:10 pm/et, TV-SPEED, no re-air scheduled;
AND live via radio at MRN Radio only on NASCAR.com.

RACE RUNDOWN....news and links

Regan Smith wins at Darlington: #78-Regan Smith won the Showtime Southern 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway for the first win of his career. He stayed on track during the last caution and held off #99-Edwards on a green-white-checker finish.
Edwards held on to finish second followed by #2-Keselowski, #4-Kahne (the pole sitter), #39-Newman, #11-Hamlin, #14-Stewart, #16-Biffle, #1-McMurray, and #56-Truex, Jr.
#29-Harvick and #18-Busch were called to the NASCAR hauler after the race. They were involved in the accident that brought out the final caution of the night. Then as cars were headed to pit road after the checkered flag, they parked next to one another on pit road and Harvick got out of his car to confront Busch, when Busch took off and pushed Harvick's car out of the way and into the pitwall.
The win was the 5th ever for a car #78 and the first since Jim Paschal won at Columbia, SC running the #78 on July 9, 1955 [see wins by car number page].
There were 21 lead changes among 12 drivers; 11 cautions for 46 yellow flag laps. The attendance is listed as 61,000, down from 67,000 last year.Scheduled Race Re-Air: Wednesday, May 11 at 12:00pm/et on SPEED
See race results, awards, laps led and more on Jayski's Darlington Race Results/Awards page.(5-7-2011)

Race Fast Facts - Darlington:
Regan Smith won the 62nd Annual SHOWTIME Southern 500, his first victory in 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2011.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in four races at Darlington Raceway.
Carl Edwards (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in eight races at Darlington Raceway. It is his eighth top-10 finish in 2011.
Brad Keselowski (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Darlington Raceway.
Carl Edwards leads the point standings by 23 points over Jimmie Johnson.(NASCAR Statistics)(5-7-2011)

Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Dover:
By skipping the last two races, the #21-Wood Brothers team has fallen out of the top 35. The #13 team has moved back in.
32) #36-Blaney/TBR, 156, +16
33) #32-Skinner/FAS Lane, 149, +9
34) #13-Mears/Germain, 147, +7
35) #7-RGordon/RGM, 137, +4 point ahead of 36ththese teams / drivers would need to qualify by speed adt Dover:
36) #21-Bayne/Wood Brothers, 140, -4 points out of top 35
37) #71-Lally/TRG, 132, -12
38) #38-Kvapil/Front Row, 109, -35
39) #37-Raines/Front Row, 106, -38
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owner points standings, see my Owners Points Standings page.(5-7-2011)

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Showtime Southern 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway have been made.
Pole sitter #4-Kahne chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #39-Newman took pit stall 8, the next stall with an opening in front of it.
#11-Hamlin, who starts 3rd took the 7th pit stall, thefirst stall with an opening behind it.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #14-Stewart, who starts 9th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(5-7-2011)

NASCAR Green-White-Checkered Race Procedure: NASCAR allows a maximum of three restart attempts prior to the White Flag under NASCAR's Green-White-Checkered flag finish. If the leader has taken the White Flag and the caution flag is displayed, the field is frozen and the race will not be restarted. Previously, there was only one restart attempt. The procedure applies to all three national series. See rule and notes on the Green-White-Checker rule page.(2-11-2010)

Wave-around rule: The wave-around rule dictates that cars under penalty at the time of the caution are ineligible for the wave around.(10-11-2009)

Kahne wins Darlington pole: #4-Kasey Kahne won the Coors Light pole for the Showtime Southern 500 Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway with a speed of 181.254mph, a new track record.
It is his 1st pole of the season and the 21st of his career. #39-Newman starts 2nd followed by #11-Hamlin, #99-Edwards, #24-Gordon, #9-Ambrose, #43-Allmendinger, #83-Vickers, #14-Stewart, and #22-Keselowski.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #38-Kvapil, #46-Yeley, #50-Bell, #60-Skinner, #37-Raines, #30-Stremme, #66-McDowell, and #87-Nemechek.
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (3): #81-Riggs, #71-Lally, and #92-Keselowski.
See the starting lineup, qualifying speeds and notes on my Darlington Starting Lineup/Qualifying Results page.(5-6-2011)

Qualifying Fast Facts - Darlington:
Kasey Kahne won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 62nd Annual SHOWTIME Southern 500 with a lap of 27.131 seconds, 181.254 mph a new track record. The previous record was held by Jamie McMurray 180.37 mph (05/08/2010).
This is his 21st pole in 262 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and fifth top-10 start in 2011.
This is his fourth pole in nine races at Darlington Raceway.
Ryan Newman (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2011 and his 10th in 13 races at Darlington Raceway.
Denny Hamlin (third) posted his fourth top-10 start at Darlington Raceway. It is his third in ten races this season.
Andy Lally (45th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.(NASCAR Statistics)(5-6-2011)

Qualifying Order for the Showtime Southern 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is posted. 46 cars/drivers are listed. Go-or-go homers will qualify at the end of the session, once the top-35 drivers are done.
The first of the top-35 drivers scheduled to go out is #7-Gordon.
The final top-35 driver scheduled to go out is #39-Newman
The first go-or-go homer scheduled to qualify [36th] is #71-Lally with the final driver scheduled to qualify being #46-Yeley.
Qualifying order is set by practice speeds, with the top 35 drivers going out from slowest to fastest, then the non-top 35 drivers go out, slowest to fastest from practice.
See the full qualifying order on the Darlington Qualifying Page.(5-6-2011)

Friday's first practice: for the Showtime Southern 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is over after being cut short by rain. Final practice was also washed out. The top five, slowest and any notes:
#39-Newman 176.816
#99-Edwards 176.296
#22-Busch 175.654
#11-Hamlin 175.516
#4-Kahne 175.509
slowest: #92-Keselowski 167.779 & #71-Lally 166.919. No speed: #7-Gordon
incident: #18-Busch got the first Darlington stripe of the session early. Just a little sheetmetal damage that the team will repair. #50-TJ Bell also scraped the wall and will have to have the car repaired. #22-Busch cut down a tire going into turn 1 and hit the wall. He will have to go to a backup car.
See speeds, laps run, aveage speed, best ave 10 laps on the Darlington Practice Speeds Page.(5-6-2011)

Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Darlington:
Three teams are tied for 35th, #32, #13 & #71. The #32 gets the 35th with three best finishes of 15th, 22nd & 24th, the #13 is 36th with three best finishes of 15th, 22nd & 25th, the #71 is 37th with a best finish of 19th. With the #21 still in the top-35 [attempts do not matter if in the top-35] but skipping Darlington, the #13 will have a guaranteed spot at Darlington.
32) #21-Bayne/Wood Brothers, 140, +8
33) #7-RGordon/RGM, 137, +5
34) #36-Blaney/TBR, 136, +4
35) #32-Schrader/FAS Lane, 132, +0 point ahead of 36ththese teams / drivers would need to qualify by speed after race 5:
36) #13-Mears/Germain, 132, 0 points out of top 35
37) #71-Lally/TRG, 132, -0
38) #37-Raines/Front Row, 98, -34
39) #38-Kvapil/Front Row, 91, -41
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owner points standings, see my Owners Points Standings page.(4-30-2011)

Some Chassis Selections by Teams for this race

Chassis selections for Darlington:#1-Jamie McMurray: Crew Chief Kevin "Bono" Manion has elected to bring chassis #1016 to Darlington this weekend. This chassis was previously raced this year at Fontana where McMurray started 12th and finished 23rd. This chassis was also raced in last year's Texas fall race (started 25th, finished 16th), the 2010 fall race at Fontana (started first, finished 17th), and the 2010 fall race at Atlanta (started 12th, finished 15th).#2-Brad Keselowski: The #2 Miller Lite Dodge team will use chassis PRS-751 during Saturday's Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. This is a brand-new chassis to the #2 fleet.#6-David Ragan: Primary: RK-711 Last ran Bristol - finished 16th; Backup: RK-730 Last ran Phoenix in 2010 as the #99 - finished first.#9-Marcos Ambrose: : The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 653 for the 367-lap event at Darlington Raceway. This Stanley Ford Fusion is new this season and has not been previously tested in 2011.#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-640: This is a brand new racecar that has only been tested in the wind tunnel. The Showtime Southern 500 weekend at Darlington Raceway will mark the first time Chassis No. 14-640 turns a wheel on the track.#17-Matt Kenseth: Primary: RK-707 (Last run at Fontana).#18-Kyle Busch: Chassis No. 277: This chassis will make its fifth-ever start in Saturday night's Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington. No. 277 made its debut at Pocono in August 2010, where Busch started 21st and finished 23rd in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. Its next start came in the Air Guard 400 at Richmond in September 2010, when Busch qualified a distant 32nd but rallied to bring home a second-place finish behind teammate Denny Hamlin. In its next start, in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville last October, Busch started 26th but brought home a solid fourth-place finish. Most recently, Busch started 12th and scored his first win on the season in the Jeff Byrd 500 at Bristol in March.#20-Joey Logano: is taking chassis #284 to Darlington Raceway this weekend. Logano drove this chassis last year at Auto Club Speedway to an 11th-place finish and at Phoenix International Raceway in November to third. The back-up chassis is #275 that Logano most recently drove in the Martinsville race following a practice crash that damaged his primary car. He went on to finish the race in the 13th position.#22-Kurt Busch will be racing their "PRS-739" Dodge in this weekend's SHOWTIME Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. This chassis has been raced two times prior; in the 2010 season-ending race last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway and in the March 20 Bristol race this year. Busch started 15th and finished 18th in the Homestead finale. Busch started 20th and finished seventh in the Bristol race. He never led in that race, but ran in the third spot for some 200 laps. The "PRS-735" will serve as the backup Dodge for Darlington. It debuted in the Kansas race last fall (started ninth & finished 13th) and has not been raced again since.#27-Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 328 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #27 Chevy was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season and was last seen on track at Las Vegas where Menard brought home a 12th-place result after starting from the 18th position.#29-Kevin Harvick: will race chassis No. 304 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. In March, Harvick raced his way to a sixth-place finish in this car at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway after getting spun out late in the race. Last season, the team raced this car four times, scoring three top-five finishes: third at Richmond (5/1), fifth at New Hampshire (6/27) and third at Richmond (9/11).#31-Jeff Burton: will pilot chassis No. 355 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This is a brand new Caterpillar Chevy that will be put through its first competitive paces this weekend.#33-Clint Bowyer: will pilot chassis No. 315 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This is a new Chevy that will be put through its first competitive laps this weekend.#36-Dave Blaney: Chassis No. 910 - The Golden Corral team will run chassis No. 910 this weekend. Blaney drove this chassis at both Texas and California this season. The team finished 30th at Texas and 37th at California.#39-Ryan Newman: Chassis No. 39-506: This weekend, the #39 team will use chassis 39-506 for the first time this season. The #39 chassis has been a solid performer for Newman & Company as it has earned three top-10 finishes in just four starts since the team joined forces in 2009. The #39 team ran this chassis at both races at Pocono in 2009, scoring two top-15 finishes. In the June race, Newman started fifth and finished fifth. Newman started seventh and finished 14th in the car at Pocono in August. During the 2010 season, the car saw action at both Darlington and Atlanta. In its first outing at Darlington, Newman started sixth and finished ninth. Newman followed that up with another top-10 finish in chassis 39-506 at Atlanta. During the off-season, the chassis was updated for the 2011 season. While the car hasn't seen race action yet, Newman and the No. 39 team tested the car at Darlington as part of a Goodyear tire test in March.#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Brian Pattie will bring chassis #1105 to Darlington this weekend. It was previously raced at Texas this year where it started 14th and finished 13th. This chassis was also raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March of this year where it started 23rd and finished 3rd.#43-A.J. Allmendinger: The #43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 729 for this weekend's event at Darlington Raceway. This Best Buy Ford has been run previously this season at Phoenix and Martinsville.#48-Jimmie Johnson: will pilot brand new chassis No. 659 in Saturday night's race. Johnson finished 16th in backup chassis No. 623 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.:#99-Carl Edwards: RK-732 - last ran Las Vegas in March when Edwards won.
(from team PR's/sites if reported)(5-5-2011)

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same tire codes at Darlington this weekend . . . this is also the same combination of left- and right-side tires that NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams ran at Darlington earlier this year . . .
while Cup and Nationwide teams have run this left-side tire code
(D-4392) in the past, this is the first time they have run this right-side code (D-4430) . . . these teams ran this left-side tire at Texas (twice), Chicagoland and Homestead in 2010; and at Texas again and Nashville (Nationwide only) in 2011 . . . in addition, Cup and Nationwide teams will run this right-side tire later this month at Charlotte . . . this tire combination was first tested at Charlotte last October . . . Goodyear then held a confirmation test at Darlington this March 15 . . . drivers participating in that confirmation test were Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman . . . compared to what was run at Darlington last season, this tire set-up features softer compounds on both sides, while this left-side tire features a slight construction change to bring it into line with what is run at other speedways . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Darlington . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.